We all woke up this morning in a different Virginia.
During yesterday’s midterm elections, while voters were deciding on congressional representation and some new local leaders, they also overwhelmingly decided to change the state’s constitution. Three new constitutional amendments enshrining rights to reproductive healthcare decisions, same-sex marriage and voting are now part of our government’s fabric.
Preliminary results show that more than 62% of voters said ‘yes’ to the referendum adding the right to reproductive healthcare — which includes the right to an abortion. Read more about what that referendum does here.
Meanwhile, 57% of voters approved a referendum removing the state constitution’s ban on same-sex marriage. More on that amendment here.
And 56% of voters said that individuals with felonies should immediately regain their right to vote upon their release from prison. Read about that here. (This puts to bed confusion this year over which people with felonies had the right to vote. A court ruling made clear that an 1870 law had precedence in Virginia, which narrowly defined the types of felonies that would restrict a person’s right to vote.)
So, given how strongly voters backed these three Democrat-led amendments, it’s no surprise that statewide they also chose Democrat Mark Warner to keep representing us in the U.S. Senate. And district by district, eight of Virginia’s 11 congressional districts went to Democratic candidates, which matched the national trend. Across the country, Democrats have now gained a majority in both the U.S. House and Senate. Read more from the Associated Press.
One of Virginia’s three districts that did not go to Democrats was right here in central Virginia’s 5th. Preliminary results show Rep. John McGuire has just over 50% of votes. His challenger, former Rep. Tom Perriello, received nearly 48%. The remaining nearly 2% was split between independent candidate Cooke Harvey and a small share going to write-in candidates. You can read McGuire’s responses to central Virginian voters’ questions in our Q&A here.
Just north of the 5th, Rep. Eugene Vindman, a Democrat, has won the 7th District by a landslide. Preliminary results give him nearly 60% of votes. Read his responses to voters’ questions here.
In the coming days, we’ll have more coverage of this election, including some particularly interesting stories from some of central Virginia’s local races. So stay tuned.
And thanks for voting!
Jessie Higgins, Democracy Editor
